1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a well point system for lowering the water table in a below ground location for purposes of completing excavation and irrigation wherein the individual well point assemblies may be readily placed at predetermined locations and at predetermined depths and removed by hand therefrom without the need of heavy removal equipment normally associated with well point installations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various water removal systems in the form of well assemblies are quite well known in the prior art and used for a number of purposes. Frequently, in the commercial construction industry geographic areas containing a relatively high water table are frequently encountered. Such water table must be often times lowered in order to permit the formation of adequate excavations. To accomplish this well systems and particularly well point assemblies are utilized to extract water out of various types of ground strata in numerous types of terrains. Such a well point assembly temporarily lowers the water table below the depth of intended excavation for the purpose of stabilizing dirt and preventing cave-ins, etc. Such lowering of the water table helps secure and maintain permanent installations of both construction and installed piping systems wherein grade and/or gravity flow is mandatory. Such systems are also used in excavating for foundations that require the curing of concrete or the utilization of steel that must be welded. Examples of such types of constructions include the installation of pilings, swimming pools density or compaction for roads or installations utilizing the boring of new pipe under existing preexisting roads.
The aforementioned well point assemblies are used for residential lawn irrigation, argricultrual irrigation, etc. In certain parts of the United States the subject well points are also used to provide relatively deeper well assemblies so as to provide drinking water to residential homes.
Conventionally, water removal systems of this type generally involve the use of steel or metallic conduits. Such installations have an outer, temporary casing extended into the ground for a predetermined depth for the purpose of actually inserting the metal well point at predetermined locations. Such installations are well known to be extremely time consuming and require large and expensive equipment. Such equipment frequently includes the use of a large jet pump and requisite quantities of large diameter pressure hose to provide large quantities of water to the area at which the well point is installed or positioned in the ground. These twelve inch steel punch casings are also utilized as well as the use of cranes to handle the aforementioned equipment. Also as many as nine men are frequently required to install one well and generally require about one hour to install four walls.
Also conventional well points frequently require the use of filtering sand, disposed to surround the outer casing for maximum filtering of the steel well point. In addition to the above noted problems of installation, removal of such well assemblies is also a major problem due at least in part to the outwardly extending couplings disposed to protrude outwardly from the outer skin of the installed well point element. Such outwardly extending couplings and projections on the surface of the well point become sand locked requiring the use of a front end loader or crane or like heavy equipment to pull the points mechanically from the ground. In addition to the expense and time consumed in using such equipment, such method frequently results in the breaking of the installed points due to the extreme pressure put thereon.
To the contrary, there is a long recognized need for a system which is cheaper, less expensive and time consuming to install and which allow the easy and efficient removal of the points from their embedded location once it is desired to remove the subject well point system. Accordingly, the design and structure of the components of a more efficient well point system should include a light weight but strong material and a smooth outer surface of the well point assembly which does not necessitate the prior installation of a casing or the like as is now common in the industry. In addition, such a system should be effectively self cleaning in preventing the clogging of the entire system through the use of means to prevent the straining of soil particles surrounding the individual well point assemblies and as an overall result, should yield more water of fluid.